The present invention relates in general to clutch assemblies for vehicles and in particular to an intermediate plate positioner means for a multiple disk friction clutch assembly.
A friction clutch assembly is typically utilized to connect a vehicle engine to a transmission or power take-off assembly. The clutch assembly is usually enclosed in a bell-shaped housing which is secured to the engine block. The bell-shaped housing also encloses a flywheel which is attached to the output end of an engine crankshaft for rotation therewith. The flywheel has a driving surface which can be frictionally engaged by an axially movable clutch disk. The clutch disk is splined onto an output shaft connected to a set of gears in the transmission. An axially movable pressure plate is normally urged against the clutch disk by a plurality of springs acting against a clutch cover attached to the flywheel. When the clutch assembly is engaged, the clutch disk is frictionally retained between the pressure plate and the flywheel such that the rotational movement of the engine is transmitted therethrough to the output shaft.
The torque transmitting capability of the above-described single disk clutch assembly may be increased by adding one or more additional clutch disks thereto. It is well known to provide two such clutch disks on the output shaft and a single intermediate driving plate disposed therebetween. Drive straps can be utilized to connect the clutch cover to both the pressure plate and the intermediate plate for rotation with the flywheel. When the clutch assembly is disengaged, the drive straps pull the pressure plate and the intermediate plate out of frictional engagement with the clutch disks. As the friction faces of the clutch assembly wear thinner during use, the lengths of travel of the components of the clutch assembly between the engaged and disengaged positions increase somewhat. However, the drive straps tend to urge the intermediate plate toward its original position relative to the clutch cover, regardless of the amount of change in the lengths of travel of the components of the clutch assembly. Such inflexible positioning of the intermediate plate may cause undesirable interaction with one of the clutch disks when the clutch assembly is disengaged. Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a means for adjusting the position of the intermediate plate relative to the pressure plate and clutch cover as the components of the clutch assembly wear thinner.